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Airservices Australia has awarded Metron Aviation a contract for the development of software that implements the Airservices Long Range Air Traffic Flow Management (LR-ATFM) concept of operations.

Under the LR-ATFM concept, long range international flights will be assigned arrival times well in advance to allow for the most fuel efficient en route phase of flight when a delay is required because of demand and capacity imbalances at the arrival airport.

As stated in the Airservices LR-ATFM Concept of Operations document, the LR-ATFM concept "...will deliver increased predictability and reduced fuel burn for international long haul operations and integrate these flights into existing ATFM processes. This in turn will deliver further delay reductions and predictability improvements for all inbound flights into Australia's major airports."

Metron will integrate the LR-ATFM implementing software in Metron's flagship ATFM product - Harmony for Air Navigation Service Providers. Harmony has been deployed and in use by Airservices for ATFM operations since 2012.

"We are pleased to have been selected by Airservices Australia for development of the software for this groundbreaking concept," said John Kefaliotis, President of Metron Aviation. "Implementation of the concept will represent a significant first step in the movement of international aviation to Trajectory Based Operations" (TBO).

TBO is an aviation concept under which aircraft are allowed to employ optimal profiles in airspace operations.